The Common Creations of All Human Beings

Strip away cultural and social fabrication in the modern era. Strip as far back as you can, like layers of horrendous wallpaper in an old farm house.

What are the things that every human being, across time and space, have needed, physically, emotionally, and spiritually?

What have all cultures, societies, tribes, what have you, developed and believed in?

What is simply inherent and natural to the human experience, to our psychology, and our well being?

Small, cohesive families and groups with shared responsibilities? Responsibilities differing by age, with wisdom and life experience underscoring authority and guidance? Individual partnerships within larger structures? A form of bread filled with a form of cheese? Some version of a creation story? Some integration from animism to polytheism to monotheism with the recognition of a greater, unknowable power: God, Odin, Wakan Tanka, Allah, perhaps Brahman? Games? Music? Dancing? Story telling and oral traditions that host personal and communal histories? Collective responsibility? Sharing goods and resources? Clothing, jewelry, infrastructure, and other material cultures derived from what is locally accessible?

Should these not be the foundation of how we think about organizing a modern society too? Does the fact that across time, all indigenous peoples and tribes essentially developed the same ideas and same systems of belief, albeit with their own cultural flare, not prove that these ideas and systems are inherent to human happiness, wellbeing, and longevity?

Should we not rebuild our cities to be walkable? With more abundant opportunities to be among the people? Should we not promote multi-generational homes? Should we not promote individual responsibility for community? Should we not spend more time caring for each other? Should we not look to those with wisdom and experience and humility to be our leaders? Should we not tell stories of our shared past? Should we not play more games together? Share more music together? Dance together? Should we not share what we have with others? Should we not allow unique places to develop their own sense of material culture? Do we not want the American southwest to be visually different from the northeast? Do we really want a homogenous landscape of strip malls, fast food, and big box stores?

Our policy and politics have become nothing more than derivative of derivative of derivative of bad ideas. We’re lost.

From another perspective, we’re not lost, we’re just being taken for a ride by corporations seeking to maximize profit by market domination. A McDonalds and a Target within an identical three lane road outside of every city in America maximizes profits for McDonalds and Target.

Single family homes increase the number of homes sold. Multigenerational homes and families supporting and caring for one another reduces the profit of retirement homes and home health care. Preventative medicine limits the profits of pharmaceutical companies and of hospitals and surgical centers. One hammer per household (aka fix our own problems) sells more hammers than one hammer per local handyman (relying on community).

Two perspectives. I think both have their merits. Two things can be true.

But one way or another, I think most of us feel lost, and lonely, and a bit confused as to why we’re always promised that things are getting better but mentally they feel like they’re always getting just a little bit worse.

We keep building on top of a broken foundation. It’s turning to rubble beneath us. But, we keep building and building and building. We keep people looking up at the new thing on the horizon and simply refuse to recognize that, at some point, regardless of what we build, the whole thing is destined to crumble.

Let’s find a new foundation. I think we should start with some anthropology. Across time and space, what have always been the common creations of all human beings?

That’s what I’m thinking about. I think about it a lot. I’d love to talk with you about it.

Leave a comment. Let’s do that. Let’s talk about it.